It was a big year for Ireland. Well-known visitors, a bump in tourism numbers, new travel apps, great deals for travel, and a renewed interest in Irish heritage filled the plus side Rough economic times, an increase in taxes (not for Irish tourism products though), and the passing of Ireland Expert Pat Preston on the negative end. As we look back on the year, we celebrate the many wonderful posts published last year by highlighting...

To tell the story of his grandfather’s life, Daniel McGarrigle turned to film, animation, and the “Sharing Stories” project run by the Regional Cultural Centre in Letterkenny (Republic of Ireland) and the Nerve Centre in Derry (Northern Ireland). As part of a social media experiment, “Sharing Stories” is using YouTube and Facebook to promote Daniel’s film “Brighter Days.” Over the next three weeks,...

Claire Nolan is the author of a novel called The Stone, Alice Kytler, the last witch of Ireland, a medieval tale of money, power, witchcraft, family, and death. Claire is originally from Kilkenny, the town where the subject of the book, Dame Alice Kyteler, was born. An infamous figure in her day, Dame Alice was accused of everything from murder, blasphemy, and sorcery. The Stone tells the story of a noble woman who disappeared without...

Words have a magical power. They can raise up the spirits or dash them down. They can bring laughter as easily as tears. Spend words like a miser counting coins. Make each word count. ~ Old Irish Proverb Magical Books Some ancient people believed books were magical, powerful, and could bring fortune. That might be difficult to comprehend today. Sure, we like books, but we wouldn’t go to war over one. We can just make a copy (legally...

by G. Beaverson “Ann. 793 – In this year dire forewarnings came over the land of the Northumbrians, and miserably terrified the people; these were extraordinary whirlwinds and lightenings, and fiery dragons were seen flying in the air. A great famine soon followed these omens; and soon after that, in the same year, the havoc of heathen men miserably destroyed God’s church on Lindisfarne. . .” (Anglo-Saxon Chronicle) The “miserable...